


Just Because I Can

by NikNak22



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: 5+1 Things, College, Exy (All For The Game), Fluff, Foxes being Kids, M/M, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Swearing is the worst part of this, just for fun, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:14:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26912731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikNak22/pseuds/NikNak22
Summary: Dan and Neil exchange a look.  Then Dan sighs, rubbing a hand across her forehead.  “Great.  Just what we need.  A prank war.  The last time the team faced one of those, I lost a dealer, a goalie, and someone was nearly blinded.”“All in one day?” Neil quips.AKA: Five times the Foxes were pranked, and the one time the prankster gets their due.
Relationships: Matt Boyd/Danielle "Dan" Wilds, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 24
Kudos: 396





	Just Because I Can

**Author's Note:**

> Mild warning on swearing, because not a soul on that team refrains. (Except maybe for Renee- although I'm willing to bet she pulls it out in the most dire of circumstances). 
> 
> Thought I'd give the Foxes something light-hearted for once. Especially since they always have a high chance of Angst™ expected Tomorrow™ lol. 
> 
> All copyright rights to the characters, dialogue, and canon events belong solely to Nora Sakavic. Please do not post anywhere or copy to another site.

**1**

The first time it happens, the prank is simple but most definitely immature. 

The Foxes are all gathered in the lounge, waiting for Wymack to brief them before the game. He’s finishing up press interviews, but the team is getting antsy. Neil is so jittery that the couch practically vibrates from the way his knee is bouncing up and down. Andrew finally settles the matter by clamping a hand on it.

After looking up at the clock for the fifth time, Kevin scowls. “I’m texting him.”

“No one’s arguing,” Aaron replies, his head lolling back in his chair as he stares at the ceiling. 

“It’s just the Terrapins. They’ve already been disqualified from the bracket even before we play them,” Dan says bewilderedly. “It’s basically a consolation game at this point. What could be taking so long?” 

A couple of them shrug. Andrew gives Neil a glare that says, _See?_ Neil ignores him. Silence descends in the room once more as they wait. 

Then an enormous fart splits the air. 

It’s loud, long, and wet. It’s totally unexpected. And it’s coming from Kevin. 

The Foxes burst into laughter at the shock on Kevin’s face. Matt and Nicky are howling. Even Andrew gives Kevin a derisive look, scooting an inch or so away from him. 

“It’s not me!” Kevin says hotly.

“Sure, Kev,” Dan is crying, gasping as she tries to take in air. “Whatever you say.”

“No, I’m serious!” Kevin insists, his face flushing bright red as he takes out his phone. Immediately, another fart splits the air. Kevin is startled, looking at his phone to see a text message pop up. He stares at it in shock. “It’s my phone.” 

The Foxes begin howling all over again.

“Why the hell would you change your ringtone to be a fart?” Allison scrunches up her nose.

“Why wouldn’t you?” Matt grins. “That shit’s hilarious.”

Allison rolls her eyes. “Boys. Gross.”

“I didn’t change it!” Kevin says again and then he narrows his eyes at them. “Okay, fuck you guys. Who did it?”

“Don’t look at us,” Dan says, but she’s grinning as she does so. “Probably one of your roommates.”

Kevin swings a murderous glare at Andrew and Neil. 

Andrew gives him a blank stare before snorting, rolling his eyes as he looks away. “Hell no.”

Neil draws his brows together, a slightly puzzled look on his face. “You can change the ringtone on your phone? How?”

Nicky and Matt groan in unison. 

“Okay, so maybe it’s not them,” Dan backpedals, but she turns as Wymack starts opening the door.

“Don’t think I won’t forget this,” Kevin warns the room at large. “Assholes. You’re going to regret it.”

“Mmm, sure Kev,” Nicky nods as Wymack comes in and starts talking.

And the group thinks that’s it. A harmless prank at the expense of Kevin Day.

**2**

The next time it happens, they’re back at the court and they’re heading in to get changed for afternoon practice. 

“Oh hey! Is that a quarter?” Matt grins and rushes forward. He yanks and discovers it’s glued to the floor. He stumbles as the rest of the Foxes giggle, the girls walking past him to head into their own locker room while he groans. “Aw man, seriously?”

Aaron rolls his eyes as he reaches the door of the men’s locker room first, looking back at Matt to sneer, “Lame.”

Then he hits something and falls on his ass. 

The look on his face is priceless. Confusion and embarrassment war on his face as he tries to figure out why he’s on the ground when he’d just been walking through an open doorway. Then he begins to swear viciously, a red flush creeping up his neck and over his face.

The guys all burst out laughing. 

Nicky and Matt have to lean on each other they’re cackling so hard. Neil covers his mouth to stifle the giggles that keep bursting from him. Kevin simply smirks as he stands over Aaron. 

“Shut the fuck up!” Aaron snaps at the group.

Andrew steps over his brother to open the locker room door slowly. They can see now that someone placed clear saran wrap over the entire doorframe, and Aaron walked right into it. 

“What the hell is going on out here-” Dan bursts out of the girl’s locker room and stops as she gets an eyeful of Aaron muttering on the floor, Andrew staring at her, and the rest of the guys on her team dying laughing. 

A quick glance at the saran wrap has her rolling her eyes. She stalks over to the girl’s locker room door and shouts, “Ladies, get out here!”

After a moment, Allison, Renee and the other girls return to the lounge. Allison takes one look at Aaron on the floor and grins.

Dan gives the team a steely eye as Kevin pulls Aaron to his feet. “Okay, clearly someone is having fun at other people’s expense, but I warn you- a prankster always gets his dues. And I don’t want to see anyone on this team get hurt. So I’m telling whoever it is to knock it off right now. Right, Vice-Captain?”

Neil walks forward with a grim look on his face, his head nodding determinedly. “We face the Jackals in two weeks, and we’re going to have to give them hell if we want a shot at placing in semi-finals. We need to stay focused. So the fun stops now. Get changed out.”

The team groans. All of the girls, minus Allison and Renee, head back into the locker room. The freshmen guys linger down the hall as Nicky runs to get a pair of scissors from Abby’s office to cut the saran wrap down. 

Dan shakes her head at Neil as she snaps, “Kevin! Come here.”

Kevin rolls his eyes before drawing closer to them. 

“Look, I know you’re pissed about the ringtone, but there’s no need to get revenge-”

Kevin jerks his head back as if he was struck. “That wasn’t me! I would never deface an Exy court!”

Neil lifts an eyebrow. “It’s the locker room, Kevin. And ‘defacing’ seems pretty extreme for saran wrap-”

“Exactly! I would never do something so ridiculous!” Kevin sniffs.

Dan and Neil exchange a look. Then Dan sighs, rubbing a hand across her forehead. “Great. Just what we need. A prank war. The last time the team faced one of those, I lost a dealer, a goalie, and someone was nearly blinded.”

“All in one day?” Neil quips. 

“Is it really a war though?” Matt asks. “Or is it just one person?”

Dan thinks on it. “Well, there’s no way to be sure at the moment. During the day we all have access to the court, and that kind of prank doesn’t take much time and effort.”

“But getting access to Kevin’s phone is harder,” Renee adds. “They’d need to be someone close enough to him without drawing suspicion.”

“Which means the prankster is definitely a Fox,” Allison smiles wickedly. She rubs her hands together. “I smell a bet. Who wants in?”

“If it is one of us who’s the culprit, won’t they be able to affect the outcome of the bet?” Renee inquires.

Allison shrugs. “Perhaps. Unless someone just wants to fess up now?”

The room is silent. Allison grins. “Didn’t think so.”

Names are called out, people pointing fingers at each other accusingly.

“It’s definitely Kevin,” Matt says without a single qualm. 

“Me? I was the first victim, thank you!”

“Classic misdirection,” Andrew pipes up. “Could have set yourself up.” 

“He does have a point,” Dan adds thoughtfully. 

“Why the hell would I want to do that?”

“To draw the suspicion from yourself,” Neil replies. “Smart actually. That’s why it’s not Kevin.”

Kevin chokes as Allison narrows her eyes at Neil. “You actually joining the bet this time around, sweetie?”

Neil smiles and shakes his head. “Nah. You guys can figure it out. I’ve got to study for finals.”

“I think it’s Nicky,” Renee smiles. 

Nicky gasps theatrically from behind her. “Et tu, Renee?”

“Why can’t it be any of the freshmen?” Aaron snaps irritably. 

Accusations continue to be tossed around the circle. Matt bets on Kevin. Allison bets on Dan. (“What the hell, Alli? I literally said not to prank anyone.” “Uh-huh. Perfect cover, Wilds.”) Renee bets on Nicky. Aaron bets on Allison. Dan bets on Renee. Kevin bets on Andrew. Nicky bets on Matt. Andrew ignores all of them. 

“Right then,” Dan says once the bets are tallied. “Guess we’ll just have to see who gets pranked next. Although hopefully no one will since I explicitly ordered them to stop pranking people. Capisce?”

All of the Foxes nod solemnly but Dan catches the distrustful glances the group is now exchanging. 

Later, she supposes she brought it on herself when she gets back from practice to find her entire dorm room floor lined with water-filled cups. She only sighs as Allison yells behind her, “What the actual fuck?”

**3**

“Okay, okay, okay,” Dan quiets the group down as she digs viciously into her lo mein with chopsticks. “I don’t know which of you fuckers managed to confiscate Jack’s clothes, but that was brilliant.”

“I will never be able to get the image of Jack in a skirt out of my head again,” Nicky moans. “And that’s not a good thing.”

“Neither, hopefully, will Jack,” Allison replies viciously.

Dan grins. “So let’s recap. There’s Kevin’s ringtone, the saran wrap door, the solo cups, Jack’s clothes obviously. There’s also the recording of Nicky screeching ‘I’m a Barbie Girl’ over the loudspeakers-”

“I think I’m deaf in one ear now,” Matt groans.

“-the cream cheese deodorant incident-”

“Literally not funny,” Aaron says darkly. 

“-and the latest, a whole bunch of actual live foxes that were released into the stadium.”

“Sacrilege,” Kevin shakes his head vehemently. 

Dan points her chopsticks at the group. “Theories. Go.”

“Allison,” Aaron begins immediately. “She has the time, the money, and the spitefulness.”

“Excuse you,” Allison swings her hair over her shoulder. “Some of us have a life.”

“And it would be hard for her to sneak into your dorm room, or the guys locker room, to replace your deodorant without being noticed,” Renee adds.

“Hard, but not impossible,” Aaron argues.

“Matt was the one who punched Jack the other day,” Nicky pipes in. “This could be follow-up revenge.”

“Hey! That was justified. He’s an ass.”

“But Matt’s terrible with animals,” Dan shakes her head. “There’s no way he could get all of those foxes without getting some kind of injury.”

“I love them, but they hate me.” Matt holds up his bare, unharmed arms as proof and grins. “Remember Nicky had to go early to the court the other day for extra laps with Wymack.”

“That’s only because I told Coach that Abby was going to leave him if he didn’t wear something other than track pants to their date on Friday. I may have compared him to Neil.”

This earns him twin glares from the couch where Neil and Andrew are sitting. 

“He also used to live with Kevin,” Matt adds.

“So?” Nicky returns.

“So, you could have made a copy of their key before handing it in. And you could have snuck in and changed Kevin’s ringtone while he was sleeping,” Renee finishes for Matt.

“Eew, that just sounds creepy,” Nicky shudders.

Kevin blanches before shaking his head. “I might not have heard him, but Andrew and Neil are light sleepers. There’s no way he would have been able to do it at night.” He narrows a glare at them. “But both of you were late to practice the other day, when Jack’s clothes went missing.”

Neil responds with, “Andrew and I both have class right beforehand on the other side of campus. But Andrew’s car is in the shop, so we had to walk.” He lifts an eyebrow as he stares at the goalie. “Because someone didn’t want to run.”

Andrew just returns his gaze blankly. 

“Did you see anyone shifty in the locker room when you got there?” Dan asks. “Was there anything out of place?”

Neil shakes his head. “No, I didn’t see anyone. Andrew?”

Andrew’s gaze is off in the distance as if he’s trying to recall something. Then he shifts his eyes back to Dan. “No. Nothing was out of place when we got there.”

A collective sigh goes through the group. 

“Damn it,” Allison smiles. “One of us is wicked smart.”

Dan shakes her head. “Forget it. Let’s just pick a movie.”

“Here, let me help, Matt,” Renee says cheerfully as Matt begins gathering up plates. 

Nicky and Allison argue over what movie they’re going to watch as Dan plays referee between them, while Kevin knocks back a couple shots of vodka. Neil and Andrew definitely do not cuddle on the couch while they definitely don’t stare into each other’s eyes having some weird kind of silent conversation. But Aaron definitely does ignore them in his own beanbag, a scowl on his face. He perks up though at a text message he receives- likely from Katelyn. 

Quickly, Matt and Renee load the dishwasher and wipe down the counter. As Matt puts some soap in and starts the machine running, Renee reclaims her spot on the floor next to Allison. Matt returns to the armchair he and Dan were sharing, popping her back onto his lap as they start the movie.

It’s a short time later that they hear something. 

It sounds squishy and wet. At first the team thinks it’s part of the movie, but a silent scene makes it clear the noise isn’t connected to the TV.

“What the hell is that?” Allison asks, sitting up. 

Matt rises as well, “I have no ide-”

Then his eyes pop open wide. He jumps to his feet, ignoring Dan’s yelp as she’s dumped unceremoniously on the floor. He runs back over to the kitchen, his socks sliding on the smooth linoleum floor. “Holy shit!”

Because there are bubbles everywhere. 

Foam is rising up and out of the dishwasher, pouring all over their sink, the counters, the floors. It’s a white foaming monstrosity that just continues to get bigger the longer he stares at it. 

The Foxes gape at the mess for a moment before they spring into action. Matt rushes into the fray, trying his best to turn the dishwasher off when he can’t see the buttons. Renee and Dan sprint to the bathroom, grabbing any towels they see to start mopping up the mess. Allison and Aaron are yanking things like phones and cords out of the foam’s reach while Kevin snatches the remaining Chinese containers. Nicky follows Matt into the kitchen only to slip and crash into him, taking them both to the floor. 

Matt and Nicky stare at each other for a moment before they start cracking up. Matt has enough foam on his face to make it look like a beard, while Nicky now seems to be wearing a very fluffy hat. Within seconds, they’re throwing the suds at one another. 

“Get out of the way you idiots,” Aaron hisses at them, pushing them to the side, effectively knocking them over again as he slides in and opens the cupboard under the sink. “What the hell did you put in there, Boyd?”

“Just the usual stuff!” Boyd gasps, laughing hard as he lays on the floor, making foam angels. 

Aaron snatches the bottle, opens the cap and pours a bit out. He narrows his eyes. The liquid may be blue, but it’s the wrong color. He pours some into his hand in the sink, runs water over it, and his suspicion is confirmed. “Boyd, this is fucking dishwasher soap.”

“No it’s not, it’s detergent!”

“It’s definitely fucking dishwasher soap.”

“No, it’s not! Look at the front!”

Aaron whips the bottle around, ready to show Matt how much of a moron he is when he stops. There, on the label, it says “Detergent” in large block letters. Someone had replaced the contents of the detergent bottle with dishwashing soap and stuffed it back under the sink with no one the wiser. 

Kevin’s mouth drops open. “You’ve been pranked!” he shouts.

“No shit, Kevin,” Allison scowls at him. “I think they got it.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Aaron mutters, throwing the bottle down with a huff. 

“You guys okay?” Neil asks from his spot on the couch. He’s leaning over the back of it to stare at the group. Andrew is silent beside him.

“Oh, I’m okay,” Matt grins as he sits up. He narrows his eyes though as he looks at the group, shaking his finger. “But when I figure out which one of you assholes did this, you are definitely _not_ going to be okay.”

He stands up, stripping off his sopping wet shirt and stalking towards the bathroom. Dan does a quick wolf whistle and slaps his ass as he goes by. 

“So…” Neil continues. “…movie night’s over then?”

**4**

The pranks are coming nonstop now. And it seems like no one is safe. 

Nicky reaches into his backpack and screams bloody murder when he pulls out a giant fake spider. 

Renee opens her bedroom door to have hundreds of balloons come streaming out at her.

Allison gets a fake email from her professor saying her exam time has changed, causing her to sprint to an empty lecture hall at 7am. Without her hair or makeup done. 

“I can’t take it anymore,” Nicky groans into the court floor as he lays facedown on it. “Who is it?”

“The little shit,” Allison snaps, twirling her racquet in agitation. “When I figure out which one of you assholes pulled that stunt yesterday, I’m going to wring your neck.” Her hands mimic the action on her racquet so violently that Kevin takes a step back. 

“It’s actually pretty impressive,” Matt seems loathe to admit. “Think of how many pranks it’s been now, and we still have no idea who’s doing it.”

“It’s aggravating,” Dan complains. “There’s no clues, no hints of who it could be, no close calls. Heck, I would have thought one of us would have caved by now and owned up to it.”

Aaron shoves a hand frustratingly through his hair. “There has to be something we’re missing.”

“Um, are you guys going to actually practice, or…” Neil asks them, an eyebrow raised. 

“How can we think about practice, Neil, when one of us is literally tearing the team apart, one prank at a time?” Allison snaps. 

Neil shrugs and turns back towards the freshmen, barking at them to start up some drills. 

Kevin shakes his head. “He’s right. We should get moving. This is a waste of time.”

Dan rolls her eyes. “Fine. Let’s scrimmage a bit, half-court style. Matt and Aaron on defense, facing Kevin and me. Andrew can be goalie. Allison, can you, Renee and Nicky go help Neil?”

After some grumbling, the team moves into position. 

Without looking, Dan scoops up one of the balls and they begin to scrimmage. She ducks and weaves around Matt, passing frequently to Kevin. They’ve been working on accuracy with their passes, so she avoids bouncing the ball off the walls and instead aims to hit Kevin’s racquet each time. 

Clearly the practice has been paying off because within minutes, Kevin sees an opening after she passes to him and shoots at the goal. Andrew can see it coming a mile off though, and he swings his racquet back. Dan knows he’s going to crush the ball, that she’s going to have to chase it back the full-length of the court. So she tenses her muscles as Andrew’s racquet connects with it- and watches as the ball explodes over him. 

Andrew is shocked. His mouth drops open in surprise as pink glitter covers him. It’s literally everywhere- his hair, his face, his practice uniform, his racquet. It sparkles in the sunlight as he stands there frozen. 

Dan can’t help herself. She starts laughing out loud, her ribs aching as she wheezes between gasps. 

Andrew gives her a glare that could crack marble. But the pink sparkles in his eyelashes counteract the effect, so Dan just starts laughing harder. 

Aaron and Matt are leaning on their racquets as they try to breathe between guffaws. Nicky drops to the floor in his hysterics. Tears stream down Allison's face she's laughing so hard. Even Renee chuckles, a small grin lighting up her face. 

Kevin tries his best to ignore them but is losing the battle. His face is pinched, as if he’s biting the inside of his cheek to stop it, but then he’s grinning. He starts to chuckle, and soon he’s laughing just as hard as Aaron or Matt. 

Neil comes to a stop beside Dan, and she turns to see him cover his mouth with both hands. Not a sound escapes him, but Dan can see the way his eyes have crinkled up in the corner, and how his chest shakes imperceptibly. While Dan tries to give him kudos for being a good boyfriend, even she can see how he doesn’t take those last steps towards the goal. Probably because he knows he’ll start cracking up if he gets too close.

Andrew’s gaze finds him though, and he stares at him for a long moment. Then he huffs before shaking his head like a dog. Pink glitter falls from his hair like sparkling raindrops. This starts another round of laughing. Andrew simply walks out of the goal and into the locker room. 

They don’t see him again for the rest of practice.

Dan is therefore surprised later when she finds Andrew at her door. “Where’s Allison?” he asks curtly, without preamble. 

Allison pops up behind her. “What do you want?”

“I want in.”

Allison raises an eyebrow before slowly grinning. “Stake?”

“$100.”

Both of Allison’s eyebrows fly up towards her forehead. “Confident.”

Dan covers her own smile behind her hand. After today’s stunt, she’s not surprised. Someone is either very brave or extremely stupid for having decided to drag Andrew into it. 

“What’s your guess?” Allison asks him.

He holds up a sealed envelope. “For when I catch them.”

“Interesting,” Allison smirks as she snatches the envelope from his hand. “Consider yourself in. May the best woman win.”

Andrew tilts his head before nodding, then walks back down the hall. 

“Shit, Andrew has joined the game now?” Dan whistles. “I’m starting to fear for this prankster’s life.”

“They’ll deserve it,” Allison smirks, her smile taking on a decidedly feral look. 

**5**

The team just stares in awe at the latest prank. It’s so outlandish that they are actually flabbergasted as to how it could have occurred.

“Is that…is that your truck, Matt?” Nicky asks faintly. 

Matt just nods dumbly.

And they all continue to stare in silence at where it sits on the roof of Fox Tower.

“How…” Aaron starts before stopping. He tries again. “…just how?”

“I have no idea,” Matt shakes his head, stunned. 

“Christ, Boyd!” the swim team captain, Tim, calls out to him. He’s walking back to the dorm with a couple members of his team. They all glance to where the others are looking, and their eyes widen. “Is that your truck?”

Matt nods again. 

“How the hell are they going to get it down?”

Matt shakes his head as Dan walks back to them. “Well, I’ve called campus security. They’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“Fat lot of good those guys will be,” Tim scoffs. “Oh hey! What’s up Neil?”

Neil gives him a small wave before asking, “What’s going on?” He and Andrew are walking slowly out of the Tower towards the Maserati. But they stop, intrigued by the crowd gathered.

Matt just points to the roof. Neil turns and his mouth drops open, eyes wide. “Holy shit, Matt. Is that your truck?”

Again, Matt just nods. Andrew stares at it thoughtfully.

Campus security is stumped. The police are stumped. The prank spreads like wildfire across campus. It’s becoming the thing of legends. The engineering students are devoting hours trying to resolve how the truck could have been put up there in the first place. 

Through the help of a local construction company, they’re able to get the vehicle back down on the ground safely (although Matt is nearly inconsolable until he is able to pop the hood and verify this). 

But Dan has had enough. She’s about to rip the team a new one at practice when Andrew catches her right beforehand. 

“I know who it is,” Andrew says simply. 

“What?” Dan says, caught off guard. “Who?”

“Matt’s room. Tonight. No freshmen.” His eyes glint. “I have proof.”

Dan grins. Oh, this prankster is going _down_. 

\---

Dan smiles as she sees all the original Foxes gather. Her blood is pumping, skin flushed excitedly. While completely aggravated by the pranks her team has been suffering through, she is also reluctantly impressed. Someone has been very good at slipping in-between the team’s defenses unawares- which is no small feat considering the Foxes’ pasts. If it had been last year, she would have been worried about it. 

Now, she’s bizarrely happy that the team could experience some harmless fun. 

“We know who did it,” Dan starts immediately. “The pranks.”

The group turns to look at her, their attention swiftly captured.

“Well,” Dan amends, “I should say Andrew knows who did it.”

Matt gasps. Aaron and Kevin exchange a glance before they turn to Andrew. Allison narrows her eyes at him. Even Neil whips his head to the side as he continues to sip at his smoothie. 

“I knew that criminology major would be worth something!” Nicky crows, throwing a fist in the air. 

Andrew rolls his eyes and stands next to Dan. He pulls a DVD out of his pocket and slips it into the player as he starts talking. “Close to Kevin, Access to the Court, Must be a Fox,” he names each point off. “Things we already established. Then there’s the security tapes.”

“Shit, of course!” Allison breathes excitedly. “The cameras at the stadium! Are they on there?”

Andrew shakes his head.

“So…” Matt continues, “that means either the tapes are tampered with, or the person knows where the cameras are.”

“So again, it’s a Fox,” Aaron says dismissively.

“Not necessarily,” Dan shakes her head. “I don’t know where all the cameras are.”

“Me either,” pipes in Renee. 

“It’s none of you idiots,” Andrew says, waving a hand dismissively at Renee’s group.

Allison glares at him. “So that leaves the Monsters.”

Neil huffs out an annoyed breath. 

“The dorms are inconvenient. Too many people, not enough cameras,” Andrew continues. He holds up something small and black. “So I improvised.”

“Holy shit, you bugged the dorm?” Matt gapes at him. 

Andrew stares blankly at him before grabbing the remote. “I found something interesting.”

He presses play. 

The video on the tv is in black and white. It's clearly nighttime, the time stamp confirming the wee hours of the morning. The camera is positioned under one of the streetlamps near the door of Fox Tower. They can see people moving around in it, quietly setting down what looks like ropes, pulleys and winches as others wrap around the building. In a few moments, Matt’s truck can be seen being rolled into view. 

A lone figure steps out of the dark and into the circle of light from another streetlamp.

“Tim?” Matt gasps. “From the swim team?”

“I always knew that guy was shady,” Kevin scowls.

Tim is clearly grinning at someone off camera, his mouth moving as he says something. He holds out a hand. Then another figure steps forward into the frame and grasps it, sliding their fingers and palms until the handshake ends in a fist bump. 

Allison and Aaron perk up. Kevin leans forward in his seat. Nicky starts biting his nails. 

The second figure’s head is hooded, their sweatshirt plain and unidentifiable. The two of them talk for a bit as they watch what must be the swim team hook up the truck and slowly lift it onto the roof. They banter before Tim jogs off. Then the figure turns towards the camera. 

They peer off into the darkness for just a second before they slowly lift their head. 

Then Neil stares straight into it and winks.

Andrew pauses it there.

There is silence in the room for a moment as the Foxes take it in. They turn their heads and stare at Neil, whose face slowly shifts from his blank, innocent expression into a shit-eating grin. 

Aaron breaks the silence first. “Are you fucking shitting me? I’m going to kill you!”

And with that, the hunt is on. 

As if he had known this would happen, Neil leaps over the back of the couch and sprints to the dorm door. He already has his running shoes on, and speeds down the corridor. Matt, Kevin, Aaron and Nicky all sprint after him, knocking into each other as they tear down the hall. 

Neil slides down the stair bannister, reaching the first floor as the others begin their descent. He slams the front door of Fox Tower open and takes off, a runner in his full glory. Andrew and the girls can hear their shouts as the guys chase Neil off into the night. 

“I cannot believe that asshole!” Allison gapes. “I’m gonna shove his head in a toilet when he gets back.”

Andrew looks at her thoughtfully. “I might let you.” 

Allison grins at him, and for a second Dan is chilled to the bone. If Andrew and Allison ever chose to team up…well, she’s not sure if the world is ready for that. Neil certainly isn’t. 

Then Allison’s eyes widen. “Wait!”

She runs out of the room and is back in moments with Andrew’s sealed envelope. She stares at him in wonder. “You couldn’t possibly…” She rips the envelope open and there is a single slip of paper in it with a name printed neatly in the middle: NEIL. “How the hell did you know?”

“When did you first suspect him?” Renee inquired. 

“Neil is a liar,” Andrew answers blankly. “And lies by omission are the easiest.” He holds up his fingers and begins counting off clues for each of the pranks. “Before Kevin’s ringtone went off, Neil was edgy.”

Renee catches on immediately. “And you told him not to be nervous because the Terrapins didn’t even qualify-”

“He didn’t _say_ anything,” Allison interrupts.

“-but it wasn’t because he was nervous about the game. He was nervous about his first prank,” Renee finishes smoothly. 

Andrew nods. “He’s got keys to the Court, Matt’s room and my room, and he’s close enough to Matt to filch Dan’s keys off of him without him noticing.”

“Giving him full access to each of us,” Dan shakes her head in wonder. “So then he must have lied to me when I asked him about the day that Jack’s clothes went missing.”

“Not exactly,” Renee mused. “He answered your question directly about whether he saw anyone in the locker room. Technically he didn’t see anyone other than himself, so he was being truthful.” 

“And he didn’t answer your second question. I did,” Andrew agreed. “That day, Neil showed up outside my class to walk with me to practice. He didn’t say anything, but I found out later that his class had been cancelled that day. Meaning he had a full hour to get to the stadium, set up the prank, then run back before my class ended.” 

“The little shit,” Allison shakes her head in wonder. “What finally gave him away?”

“One of his pranks went wrong.”

“What are you talking about?” Dan frowns. “I don’t remember there being any duds.”

Andrew smirks. “The fake Exy ball was never meant for me. It was meant for Kevin.” 

“Keep telling yourself that,” Allison snorts.

“How do you know?” Immediately, Dan thinks back to when Neil had popped up beside her, his eyes wide and his hands covering his mouth in shock. 

“Kevin’s been working on some trick shot that uses the stick on his racquet, so I’ll bet Neil planned for Kevin to pick it up. But he couldn’t wait until night practice. Otherwise Kevin would have known it was either me or Neil. So he planted it during our afternoon practice, thinking it was likely Kevin would grab it. I was just collateral damage.”

“You mean a side benefit,” Allison grins. “I bet he was absolutely buzzing with excitement after pranking you. Look me in the eye and tell me you didn’t get some action that night.”

Andrew glares at her. 

“So…basically you guessed,” Dan concludes, grinning.

“If you thought it was Neil, why didn’t you call him out after?” Renee asks.

“I didn’t have proof,” Andrew admits begrudgingly. “But I knew it was him when Tim said hi this morning, even before I checked the tape. Neil barely knows anyone in the building outside of the Exy team. He’s never hung out with the swim team before.” He snorts derisively. “It was a dead giveaway. Even Neil knew it.”

“So he came here knowing that you were going to expose him?” Allison stares at him. “What is he, a masochist?”

“But why?” Dan asks, bewildered. “Why go to all this work? Such elaborate pranks?”

Andrew hesitates before shrugging. 

“If I had to venture a guess, I’d say it was because he could,” Renee steps in. 

“Explain,” Allison turns to her.

“While there’s definitely a level of immaturity here,” Renee says in amusement, “it’s something Neil’s never experienced before. The ability to poke fun at people he trusts and not get violently injured in return.”

“Was I hallucinating, or did you not notice Matt, Kevin, Nicky and Aaron all chasing after him?” Dan asks dryly. 

“Yes, but the worst they’ll do is punch him. More than likely, they’ll want to throw him in a pool or a dumpster or make him do something equally ridiculous. And I bet the thought thrills Neil.” Renee smiles sadly. “Any time he did something normal for his age in his environment- crying, for example- he was probably punished severely for it. It shows remarkable progress that he feels comfortable enough with us to experiment.”

“Okay, Bee,” Allison rolls her eyes and smiles softly. “But if you try and tell me he didn’t get a kick out of pulling one over on us, you’re full of shit.”

Renee laughs. “Oh, I’m sure that amused him to no end. But I think it’s all part of the larger picture.” She hums for a second before looking out the window into the night. “There’s no way they’ll catch him. How long do you think they’ll try before giving up?”

“They’ll be back in ten minutes,” Andrew says confidently. “But Neil won’t come back tonight.”

“What?” Dan asks sharply. “Why not?”

“Because he’s not going to make it that far,” Andrew says flatly, picking up Neil’s smoothie and shaking it. 

Dan gasps. “You drugged him?” she accuses, real heat inflicting her tone. 

Andrew rolls his eyes. “No. He drugged himself.” The three girls just stare at him until he grumbles out, “Bee prescribed him some sleeping meds because he’s been having nightmares recently. He hates swallowing the pills though, so we’ve been crushing them and putting them in smoothies. Once these take effect, he’s going to be knocked out.”

“So he’s just going to drop wherever he’s standing?” Allison asks, a hint of concern in her tone. 

“He’s not that stupid,” Andrew shakes his head. “Give it an hour, and I’ll show you exactly where he’s landed.”

\---

“Are you shitting me?” Matt whisper-shouts, staring at Neil, who is completely knocked out on the lounge couch. 

Andrew gives him a look before walking over to the couch. He takes a stack of magazines from the corner and, without warning, drops them on the floor in front of Neil. 

All of the Foxes flinch at the loud noise it makes, sure that Neil will wake up, but he doesn’t twitch a muscle. 

“Holy shit,” Kevin breathes, a rare smile creeping up onto his face. 

Andrew lifts an eyebrow at his twin, holding out his hand. “Aaron?”

Aaron smirks and throws a small bag at Andrew. “Already on it.” 

Andrew gets to work, and before long, the rest of the Foxes are shaking with repressed laughter, digging out their phones and giggling as they take picture after picture. 

**+1**

Neil jolts awake, looking around blearily for the clock. Oh good, he’s still got twenty minutes before practice starts. 

Groaning, he sits up and stretches, working out a few kinks in his neck from sleeping on the couch. He can’t believe how out of it these sleeping pills make him, but he’s thankfully not had a nightmare in a week, so he guesses they must be doing something right. 

A strange grin plasters itself on his face as he thinks about last night. To be honest, he’s not quite sure how all of this started. 

At first, he’d just been pissed off at Kevin and wanted a stupid, embarrassing way to get back at him. He wasn’t thinking of ‘getting away with it’. It was natural that he’d be caught; Kevin would probably accuse him the moment after the prank occurred. They’d been arguing all the way to the stadium, after all. So Neil had simply accepted that whatever punishment Kevin gave him would be deserved. 

But he’d been stunned when the whole thing had gone so smoothly. It was almost too easy. So the next time he’d upped his game, just to see if he could. And was surprised again at how beautifully it had worked. 

The fact that Aaron became the unintended victim? Icing on the cake.

And just like that, Neil was addicted.

His years of lying and faking his way through his emotions were unbelievably helpful in this endeavor. Each time a prank worked, it gave him a new, peculiar little thrill. His team was entirely too trusting; they barely looked his way when eyeing up potential culprits. 

He was beginning to wonder how long he could stay under the radar until the glitter ball exploded over Andrew’s head in practice. One look from the goalie was all it took, and Neil knew he was done. So he decided to go out with a bang, pulling the last prank out of his back pocket with a flourish. 

But he doesn’t regret anything. No matter what his team has in store for him.

He knows they’ll be here any minute, so he dashes over to his locker and pulls on some spare practice clothes and deodorant that he keeps there just in case. It’s game day, so he’ll have to pop back to his dorm after practice to put on his uniform before he heads to class. He’s just finished changing when Matt and Nicky walk into the room. 

“Hey guys!” Neil greets them smugly, a toothy grin on his face as he recalls leaving them in his dust last night. He’s actually a bit wary, sure of the retribution that will come his way today since the guys weren’t able to catch him yesterday. He knows what’s due after all. Eye for an eye and all that. It’s the world he was born into. But Matt and Nicky just grin at him and give him jovial morning greetings in return. 

Neil narrows his eyes. 

He can see the way their mouths twist, fighting smiles on their faces. They must have something planned for later. He’ll have to keep on his toes. 

Kevin and Aaron enter the locker room next. Aaron smirks at him before turning and dismissing him altogether. Kevin also lifts an eyebrow, a corner of his lips quirking before he decides to turn away and get changed himself. 

Neil can tell Matt and Nicky are refusing to look at him now, their shoulders shaking. 

He’s starting to get suspicious when Andrew walks in the room. Andrew stares at him blankly before moving to his own locker and getting changed. 

Now Neil knows something is wrong. Because the minute he pranked Andrew, he knew he was signing his own death certificate. The fact that Andrew didn’t walk up to him right now and punch him in the stomach means he definitely has something planned. Or he’s already done it. 

A small ball of dread mixed with excitement starts to grow in the pit of his stomach. It’s an odd feeling. Of knowing payback is coming his way, but that it won’t be bloody. (Okay fine- _most likely_ won’t be bloody- he won’t discount anything with Aaron being a part of this after all). 

So Neil narrows his eyes and casts one last look around the room before grabbing the travel-sized bottle of mouthwash from his locker shelf and heading to the sink. Guess it’s better to get out there and deal with whatever they have planned now versus later. 

He turns around the corner into the bathroom and drops the bottle on the sink edge. Then he looks in the mirror. 

The guys start whooping with laughter as they hear him squeak, shout and curse, with even Andrew’s mouth twisting into an uncharacteristic half-smirk. Especially when he rounds the corner and stares at them with wide eyes. 

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT. OH MY GOD. IS THIS PERMANENT? GUYS??”

\---

Jemma stares down at her lethal nails, painted in shocking _purple crush_ , as she waits for someone from Palmetto State’s Exy team to come and make a statement after the game. Whoever the kid is on duty tonight is pathetically late, and she does not get paid enough to be missing dinner for this, thank you very much. 

It was an especially boring game if she was honest. The Foxes, who had shockingly risen to first seat after last year’s surprise season, had wiped the floor with the Tornadoes. Oh, they’d toyed with them in the first half, playing with their prey like a cat, before going for their throat in the second. She was pretty sure some of them didn’t even break a sweat. (Looking at you, Minyard). 

Which was another reason why there better be a damn good reason this kid was holding them up. 

She perks up when she finally sees someone begin rounding the corner. The Fox still has their helmet on and they immediately whip back around out of sight, before hands push them back towards the press. Jemma snaps her fingers at her cameraman and straightens her jacket as the kid hangs their head, defeatedly walking towards the group. 

It’s Josten, the rookie striker from last year who had heads spinning from his tragic backstory and one-man crusade to badmouth the late Riko Moriyama. Jemma’s a bit surprised because Wymack rarely allows the kid to talk to them anymore, what with his sharp mouth and wicked temper. Maybe he thinks a boring game like this doesn’t give Josten an opportunity to do much damage. 

But what’s with the helmet? 

Josten’s shoulders hang low as he trudges his way over to the group. He doesn’t respond as questions are launched rapid-fire at him. 

“Neil Josten, over here!”

“Neil Josten, how do you feel about the Foxes upcoming chances in the championship?”

“Josten, look this way!”

“Neil Josten, do you have anything to say about Kevin Day’s performance in today’s game?”

“Neil, with this being Danielle Wild’s last season and the first female captain in college Exy, what would you say has been her greatest influence on the team?”

“Josten, any comments on how the Tornadoes played tonight?”

Jemma doesn’t bother opening her mouth as she watches the striker stand there, arms crossed and stubbornly silent. He heaves a sigh as he continues ignoring the volley of questions. Then he reaches up and takes his helmet off.

The sight is enough to make the group fall silent. 

Josten’s face is covered in marker drawings. There’s cat whiskers crossing his cheeks, and a pink triangle drawn on his nose. Next to his chin, near his lower lip, there’s a crude drawing of a penis with the word “dick” identifying it unhelpfully. The word “junkie” is on the other side of his chin. There’s a butterfly and some hearts up near his hairline and on his forehead, a rainbow above his left eyebrow, and what looks like a lip print at the corner of his eye. There’s a few more cuss words and drawings obviously done by different hands, so Jemma has a sneaking suspicion this was a team effort. 

The reporters are stunned. Jemma can tell Neil is embarrassed- there’s a pink hue to his cheeks that’s obvious, though he’s steeled his shoulders and is putting on a brave front. 

It seems as if her colleagues are at a loss for words as they stare obviously at him. She wonders if Josten finds it ironic that, for once, people are staring at his face for reasons other than his scars. 

So she startles the group by laughing. It’s not a cruel laugh; she’s genuinely amused, and as he turns to her, she can’t help but ask, “Lose a bet, Josten?”

A small smile tugs at the corner of his mouth as he shrugs. “Something like that.”

There’s a gleam in his eye though, one she can’t ignore. She lifts an eyebrow. “Was it worth it?”

And beams at the wolfish grin he gives her in return. “Oh, absolutely.”

“Would you do it again?”

“In a heartbeat,” He pauses and then adds. “They have no idea what’s coming next.”

And the group is startled when they hear a bunch of groans coming from the locker room off to the side. 

Jemma turns back just in time to see Josten wink at her. She shakes her head. The boy is cheeky. He makes her think of back when she was in college, and the stupid antics she and her friends used to get up to. 

As her peers recover and Josten moves on, Jemma takes one last moment to fondly think, _how nice it is to be a kid_ , before she throws herself back into the fray. 

**Author's Note:**

> Extra:  
> Wymack- "All right, which one of you fuckers tin foiled my office?"  
> Rest of Foxes- *slow look towards Neil*  
> Neil: *gazes back innocently at Wymack*  
> Wymack- "You don't fool me for a minute, Josten. Congratulations. You're signed up for the next marathon. Assuming you can still walk after I run your ass into the ground in today's practice."  
> Neil- *shit eating grin*
> 
> Hehehehe. Neil is such a little asshole, and I love that he uses his innocence against the Foxes all the time. :) :) 
> 
> Also: I strongly believe that Neil is absolutely technology literate- he just doesn't bother with it most of the time. Especially once he realizes how much it aggravates Andrew and the other Foxes.


End file.
